Sunday, 8 January 2017

Baghdad (IraqiNews.-com) Iraq’s water resources minister has said
that maintenance works at the Mosul Dam continue normally as experts
warn of a catastrophic collapse that endangers the lives of hundreds of
thousands of Iraqis.
Hassan al-Janabi said in statements on Sunday that operations and
maintenance works continue to run “normally and around the clock”,
stressing that “there had been no different indications from last year”.
Several local and U.S. experts had warned of a disastrous collapse of
the dam, which is known to contain constructional flaws since its
establishment in the 1980s.
Built on unstable ground, earth underneath the dam has been eroding
by water over time, and maintenance workers have used to reinforce its
foundations with cement in order to offset the flaw. Experts warn an
imminent collapse of the dam could affect one million Iraqis.
In February 2016, Iraq signed with Italian TREVI Group a 273
million-euro, 18-month contract for the dam’s maintenance with Italian
company
In a recent interview with CNN, journalist Dexter Flikins warned that
the imminent collapse of the dam would submerge Mosul, within one hour,
under 80 feet of water, with the damage expanding over 100 miles. He
said between one and 1.5 million people in the city would die in the
disaster.